Chapters:

She woke suddenly to an unfamiliar terror. Her heart hammered,
her limbs stiffened. Her eyes were leaden and hard to keep open.
She could feel the weight of icy fingers clawing their way into
her abdomen, twisting and pulling with a viscous force. A pain so
intense, it left her weak and breathless and wanting to die. She
was covered in a blanket of sweat and although she desperately
tried, the eighteen-year old was unable to move.

Then as quick as it came, the pain mysteriously disappeared.

She immediately began taking in several deep breaths to calm
herself when she heard the squeak of a door.

"Hey." she could hear the familiar voice from across the room and
at once began to relax.

Just a bad dream. She told herself.

It was only when she tried to sit up that she realized it wasn't
a bad dream at all. Her arms and legs were firmly bound with
restraints. When she tried to scream out her voice was silent.

"Hey, it's okay." he promised. "Baby's coming a little early is
all. Mama will be here soon to help, but for now I'm gonna give
you a little something to help you sleep." She could only watch
helplessly when the syringe disappeared into her arm, sending her
into a well of darkness.

She woke to a tomb like silence. She was weak but able to move
freely again. Everything around her was simply beautiful, she
realized. She was dressed in a satiny, virgin-white gown that
flowed well below sea level, and she was in her own bed again
surrounded with several floral arrangements. A brilliant sun
shone bright into numerous open windows surrounding her with a
luminous light.

"My baby." she whispered.

As though just remembering, she gently placed her arms across her
abdomen. Her stomach was flat, and to her amazement she was not
in any pain. She slowly got out of bed and walked into the
spacious bathroom. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and
instantly froze.

The moment she saw the tortured look on her own face, she knew
that she was already dead.

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CHAPTER ONE

1996

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Mother Nature and all her cruel beauty was without a doubt
forthcoming. What were only moments ago fluffy white clouds were
now transpiring to multiple shades of sinister gray dancing
mysteriously, churning like witches brew, each wicked swirl more
menacing than the last.

It was nearly three months ago in August that century old oaks
and extreme maples scattering the land were fully clothed in a
brilliant foliage. Now raped of shield and color they were
nothing more than skeletal statues waving teasingly, while silent
breaths of bone-chilled air passed menacingly through each naked
limb.

Shrouded in a sea of black, the dark-hooded figure sat crouched
in a corner of the empty room nearly lifeless, staring wide-eyed
through a severe gap in one of the many boarded up windows.
Outside, darkness continued to rush in at an alarming speed while
skulking shadows began to eerily dance on moonlit striped walls.

The old house had long since been abandoned. It was nearly
covered in a fungus of ivy that had grown rampant over the years.
Several wooden shutters that once decorated the glass encased
windows now hung limp, barely clinging to life, while others had
already met their demise littering the ground below, floating on
a sea of glass, broken and battered. What had once been hundreds
of acres of woodland and sprawling farmland was now nothing more
that a cemetery of outbuildings crippled by years of relentless
weather, surrounding a massive stone monument standing proud,
clawing its way high into to now darkening sky.

The hooded figure sat for an undetermined amount of time before
the first droplets of ice could be heard hitting the rooftop
above. Shivering from the icy winds that slithered through the
broken windows, the figure began rocking back and forth, head
covered, in an effort to keep warm.

Or was it fear?

Outside, fierce winds could be heard howling in the now blackened
skies. Pellets of ice whirled aimlessly in the raging fury and
naked limbs were torn from their protectors without effort.

The hooded figure could sense someone or...something would be
coming soon. Something more terrifying than being surrounded in
the empty darkness. Something more terrifying than the tortured
screams that could be heard echoing throughout the house...when
no one was there.

Something...that would be able to cause great harm if it wasn't
stopped.

As quick as the ice storm had started, it had just as quickly
disappeared. Fluffy, white flakes of snow soon took over where
pellets of hardened ice earlier began. Dark clouds danced their
way across the sky allowing the brightness of the moon to once
again shine.

It was the immediate silence that caused the hooded figure to
look up from well insulated knees and glance towards the eerie
moonlight shining bright through the splintered two by fours.
Standing, then peering out through the closest window, it didn't
take long to notice. Even through the falling snow, it was
clearly visible. In the distance under the raging moonlight,
shadows of darkness walked slowly towards the house.

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The weather had taken them both by surprise. A wintry shower had
unexpectedly changed into a viscous onslaught of ice without
warning; chunks of it of slamming into the exterior of the old
Buick. It's impact, no doubt causing serious damage.

The old country lane was barely paved. Potholes were quickly
being filled with the assaulting hail.

Driving was turning dangerous, but for seventeen-year old Todd
Maynor, it was sure to become disastrous. White-knuckled, he held
the steering wheel with all the strength he could muster as the
car began to swerve and jerk. His heart pummeled and landed with
a loud thud in the soles of his feet. He could feel the fogginess
of warm sweat invading his body, even though the air was icy. He
took a hand from the steering wheel then quickly wiped a strand
of long dark hair from his left eye so he could see better.

He hit the massive pothole without warning, before his free hand
had a chance to react. The car landed with a deafening sound,
then went airborne, flipping as it exited. The sound of
shattering glass pierced the night as well as screeching tires
and screams of terror. Immediately after the exploding sound of
crashing metal the car came to an immediate stop.

"Mark...Mark...are your okay?" With his eyes fiercely shut tight,
Todd rubbed his forehead and wondered if this was all just a bad
dream. Hoping, praying that it was.

"Mark...Mark...!"

Silence.

"Dear God! What have I done?" he whispered.

"I'm all...all right..." Mark finally managed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Are you sure your okay?" Todd asked again.

"Yeah, lets get the hell out of here."

It didn't take long to exit the wreckage. Nor did it take long to
notice the silence that surrounded them.

"Guess the storm's over." Mark said almost sarcastically.

"Yeah...weird. Come on let's get back up to the road and find
some help."

Once they reached the top of the hill their eyes widened in
amazement.

"Who the hell are we kidding Mark? We aren't going to find any
help out here in God's country! Hell, a cell phone wouldn't even
be able to help us."

Every direction they looked, they were caged in with unknown
acres of dense forest. The wind had settled to a light breeze and
large flakes of white began to fall freely from the sky.

Todd and Mark shared the tattered wool blanket they'd found in
the trunk of the car to keep warm. Wrapped like cocoons, they
silently began walking down the road using only the light of the
unsheltered moon the guide them.

It didn't take long for the road to become a blanket of white and
the chilled air to freeze.

"Look Mark, I think there's a driveway or road or something up
there." Todd stuttered, trying to ignore the numbness that stung
his face.

"Come on, let's hurry."

"There's nothing up there Todd...or anywhere. Hell, take a look
around, there's nothing anywhere! We're gonna freeze to death
before we find help."

In minutes, they reached the large clearing, panting clouds of
breath. It was Todd that saw it first.

"Look!" he pointed his finger and screamed with excitement.

"Look at what?" Mark said.

"There, down there, I see a light down there. Come on," he said
grabbing his arm.

Although he had at least five inches on his older brother, Mark
couldn't even come close to competing with his strength. Todd
lifted weights on a daily basis, while he only shot a few baskets
on occasion. He had no choice but to be dragged along beside him
praying that the cold hadn't gone to his head and he was leading
them deeper into nowhere.

At the bottom of the steep incline, a massive clearing was
encased around them. Several hundred feet ahead they could see
the towering structure clawing it's way toward the sky, shadowed
in a bath of moonlight.

"I don't see a light on." Mark said nervously.

"Yeah, well maybe they shut it off. Let's just hope that whoever
lives their has a phone. Come on."

"The place looks creepy." Mark mumbled. His heart began to
frantically race.

"Come on." Todd repeated.

Standing nearly twenty feet from the building Mark suddenly
stopped.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Todd snapped.

"I...I don't know, a...a noise or something."

"I didn't hear anything, your just paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid." Mark said. "I heard some..." he cut himself
off, and looked up towards the beaming light in an upstairs room.

He watched in horror, mouth gaped, forgetting the cold and
falling snow.

At first he was mesmerized, watching her dance naked in front of
the window. Her long blonde hair floated perfectly behind her
with each delicate step she took, as though this same dance had
been done many times before. Without warning her dancing stopped.
It was as though she had just forgotten her most obvious routine,
then as quick as a lightening flash, her perfect, delicate body
fell backwards. The window was covered with an explosion of red.

A single scream pierced the night, erupting through the glacial
air.

Mark dropped to his knees, instantly grabbing for his chest. He
could feel the burning flesh where a bullet had just entered. He
could feel the blood begin to ooze, then like a volcano, erupt in
mass destruction.

Todd reached down, grabbed Mark by the back of his jacket collar
and yanked.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

He wasn't sure what he was feeling but it was gentle, like the
soft touch of a newborn, comforting and reassuring. He rubbed his
palm across his chest as if it were gently being guided, then
easily peered into it.

"I said what the hell is wrong with you?" Todd had Mark on his
feet and spun him around.

"What?...Get your hands off of me!" he pushed him away like he
was nothing more than a piece of lint lingering on his jacket.
"There's nothing wrong with me...tripped, that's all."

"Tripped? Standing still? That's a good one." Todd laughed.

Several inches of snow had fallen, leaving only a light lingering
of flakes falling delicately from the sky. The moon was full and
powerful, brighter than most. It's strength cast a radiant beam
over ice-entombed limbs in the pearly distance. Looking out, you
could see the lush trees reaching high, glistening like jewels,
dancing between gentle puffs of cool, detached air.

Forgetting about the episode with his brother, Mark took his eyes
from the beauty that enslaved them and instead looked at the
looming house before him.

If that's what it was, he thought.

It's stone structure was massive in size and webbed with an
overgrowth of vegetation. To him, it almost looked prehistoric,
outdated, as though it had belonged in a different world, in a
different time. The yard was overgrown with weeds that were able
to withstand the cold, and littered with too many years of
debris. Twin towers on either side searched for a way into the
sky, only to disappear behind lower clouds, dark and thick. Doors
and windows that were no longer able to withstand the forces of
nature sat empty and black, yet inviting, while others remained
boarded and impassable.

Straight out of a horror movie, he thought, unable to
take his eyes from the past that was in front of him.

You should be scared to death! He reminded himself.

Yet, he wasn't.

"Come on let's go," Mark suggested. "No one lives here, that's
for sure, and the place looks creepy as all get out, but we can
at least keep from freezing to death."

"Yeah..." Todd said after a long pause.

Together, at a snails pace, they walked towards the dominating
house.

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Heart pounding, blood racing, the dark hooded figure stood
motionless, well hidden behind the battered window, staring out
into the moonlit night, watching the darkness that could be seen
inching it's way forward.

No...not the darkness...people!

It was suppose to be safe here, well hidden from society...well
hidden from people. And for the past two years it had been. If
you saw a squirrel scampering in the spring trees, or a deer
sitting peacefully before the dense forest, or even a bird
singing a morning lullaby, you could consider yourself lucky.
There was no civilization down in the valley. It simply
had a life of it's own. A life of terrified screams echoing
through dark, forgotten hallways, of footsteps running up and
down stairwells, of lights flickering at will.

It was the perfect place to be.

"If you'd only walked a couple more miles," the voice was strong,
powerful, seductive, and soft...very, very, soft. "you'd have
been in town...well, you'd have had a phone at least." It was the
first time, in a long time, that the dark-hooded figure could
remember smiling.

Squeak...Squeak...It was the sound of the front door
being pushed open.

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"Wait!"

"Wait for what?" Mark took his hand from the rusted doorknob,
turned and faced his brother. "It's colder than a witches tit out
here bro, and we need to get inside before we freeze to death."

"Since when did you become such the man?"

"Since I decided I wasn't going to die at the age of fifteen!"
Mark turned away, placed his hand on the knob and pushed open the
door. Together they walked inside.